Celebrated Summer

I have a small pile of bits that, for whatever reason, never came together over the last few months. But the sudden shift of the weather has got me thinking about discoveries that quickly came and went this year.

One of these brief encounters was with fresh angelica. I've always been curious about this plant, ever since my first taste of one sweet and unnaturally neon green stalk ten years ago. Not too much later (and surprisingly, not too much since), I had been introduced to angelica in its fresh form, through Ken Oringer at Clio. More recently, I've been playing with angelica seed- a common aromatic used in gin. Perhaps because of its relative obscurity, this vegetal component has always been on my radar.

   
 

Back in early June, I stumbled upon a source from a small farm. The five pounds I excitedly ordered nearly filled a small garbage bag- it was a tangle of thick and slender stalks, of tiny shoots and tough, palm-sized leaves. We set to work breaking down the angelica, separating the hollow stalks from the leaves, and then further sorting the stalks into their different sizes. The leaves went into a few different infusions; the stalks were cleaned, blanched, and simply candied.

 

I noticed only one other pastry chef in town who'd been using it: Alex at WD-50. He, coincidentally, also became familiar with angelica while working with Oringer. Among his desserts I tasted over the summer, Stupak incorporated an angelica ice cream and thin rings of candied stalk into one with pistachio and meyer lemon. Our stab at giving it a prominent role was in a clafoutis-like cherry tart with mahleb ice cream- infused with cherry pits to lend a bitter almond and vanilla flavor, not unlike that of tonka bean. It seemed intuitive that, as it emerged during peak cherry season, the two would have an affinity for each other. 

I'm keeping on hand a small stash of preserved angelica to snack on, but I look forward to seeing it again next summer...

Comments

[leebudz]

awsome ideas, moved up to denmark and foraging wild foods is right on my door step! angelica grows everywhere!! after few more web searches and the use for angelica is endless! sweeeeet. thanx for the tips and push in right direction

oz in dk

[Debra]

Angelica is awesome and healthy in so many ways. I most definately need to try the angelica ice cream and thin rings of candied stalk into one with pistachio and meyer lemon. Can you post a recipe?